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What if Walt Disney was the producer of Looney Tunes/Walt Disney Animated Classics/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 American animated musical fantasy comedy-adventure film produced by Walt Disney and David L. Wolper and directed by Mel Stuart, Chuck Jones and Wolfgang Reitherman. It is an adaptation of the 1964 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. The 24th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics canon, the film tells the story of Charlie Bucket (voiced by Peter Ostrum) as he receives a Golden Ticket and visits Willy Wonka's (voiced by Gene Wilder) chocolate factory with four other children from around the world, while his three pets, Chucky (voiced by Mel Blanc), a dog, Patty (voiced by June Foray), a cat and Shermy, a mouse, secretly accompany him to prevent one of Wonka’s rivals from stealing a special candy known as the Everlasting Gobstopper. Dahl was credited with writing the film's screenplay; however, screenwriter David Seltzer and Disney veteran animators Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng were brought in to re-work Dahl's screenplay against his wishes, making major changes to the ending and adding four new characters, Chucky, Patty and Shermy, Charlie's three pet dog, cat and mouse, and Jenny, an “Oompa Loompa in Training" bird, along with a subplot involving them, as well as musical numbers. These changes and other decisions made by Disney led Dahl to disown the film. With a budget of just $3 million, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory received generally positive reviews and earned $4 million by the end of its original run. The film became highly popular in part through repeated television airings and home entertainment sales. In 1972, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score, and Wilder was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, but both nominations lost to Fiddler on the Roof. The film also introduced the songs "The Candy Man", which went on to become a popular hit when recorded by Sammy Davis Jr., and "Pure Imagination". The film has been regarded as one of Disney's greatest animated classics, notably one of the biggest cult classics in the animation medium, as well as one of the best film adaptations of a Roald Dahl novel. In 2014, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Plot In an unnamed town, children visit a candy shop. Charlie Bucket, a poor paperboy, and his three pets, Chucky, Patty and Shermy, stare through the window as the shop owner sings at the children. Walking home, they pass Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. A mysterious tinker recites the first lines of William Allingham's poem "The Fairies", and tells Charlie, "Nobody ever goes in, and nobody ever comes out." Charlie rushes home to his widowed mother and bedridden grandfather Grandpa Joe. After telling Grandpa Joe about the tinker, Grandpa Joe reveals that Wonka locked the factory because other candy makers, including rival Arthur Slugworth, sent in spies to steal many of his recipes. Wonka disappeared, but for three years resumed selling candy; the origin of Wonka's labor force is unknown. Meanwhile, Chucky, Patty and Shermy steal a box of Wonka Bars from the shop. They arrive at Charlie's home with the box of Wonka Bars, but Charlie convinces the trio that stealing is wrong and they should return the box. The next day, after Chucky, Patty and Shermy had the box returned, Wonka announces that he hid five "Golden Tickets" in Wonka Bars. Finders of the tickets will receive a factory tour and a lifetime supply of chocolate. Four of the tickets are found by Augustus Gloop, a gluttonous boy; Veruca Salt, a spoiled girl; Violet Beauregarde, a gum-chewing girl; and Mike Teavee, a television-obsessed boy. As each winner is announced on TV, a man whispers to them. Charlie opens one Wonka Bar, but finds no Golden Ticket and loses hope. The newspapers announce the fifth ticket was found by a millionaire in Paraguay named Alberto Minoleta. Chucky, Patty and Shermy earn a dollar by recycling milk bottles, but lose it in a gutter after fighting over it. Charlie finds the dollar and uses it buy a Scrumdiddlyumptious bar. With the change, he also buys a Wonka Bar for Grandpa Joe. The TV news reveals that Alberto Minoleta has been arrested for forging his ticket; when Charlie opens the Wonka Bar, he finds the fifth Golden Ticket. While rushing home, he is confronted by the same man seen whispering to the other winners, who introduces himself as Slugworth and offers to pay for a sample of Wonka's latest creation, the Everlasting Gobstopper. Charlie returns home with the Golden Ticket and chooses Grandpa Joe as his chaperone. The next day, after Chucky, Patty and Shermy rush to the factory with the Golden Ticket that Grandpa Joe forgot, Wonka greets the ticket winners and leads them inside where each signs a contract before the tour. Meanwhile, Chucky, Patty and Shermy notice Slugworth and his sidekick Brutus (who is also the very same delivery man who was delivering the box Chucky, Patty and Shermy had stolen before) devising a sinister plan for Charlie. After avoiding being caught by Brutus, the trio meet Jenny, an "Oompa-Loompa in Training" bird who helps them warn Wonka of Slugworth's plan. The factory includes a river of chocolate, edible mushrooms, lickable wallpaper, and other sweets and inventions. The visitors see Wonka's workers, small men known as Oompa-Loompas (which Jenny is part of), who sing their song whenever a ticket holder falls into a trap. Augustus falls into the chocolate river and is sucked up a pipe to the Fudge Room. Chucky, Patty, Shermy and Jenny follow Wonka and the other guests on "The Wondrous Boat Ride" to the Inventing Room, where everyone receives an Everlasting Gobstopper. Violet becomes a large blueberry after chewing an experimental gum containing a three-course meal, despite Wonka's warnings. The group reaches the Fizzy Lifting Drinks Room, where Charlie and Grandpa Joe ignore Wonka's warning and sample the drinks. They float and have a near-fatal encounter with an exhaust fan, but Shermy saves them by making them burp down. In the Chocolate Eggs Room, Veruca demands a golden goose for herself before falling into a garbage chute leading to the furnace, with her father falling in trying to rescue her. The group tests out Wonka's Wonkavision, only to have Mike teleport himself and become only a few inches tall. Only Charlie and Grandpa Joe remain, but Wonka dismisses them without the promised chocolate. Chucky, Patty and Jenny warn Charlie that Slugworth and Brutus have stolen a Gobstopper from them and are on their way out of the factory. Following a fight in the Wonkavision Room, Charlie stops Slugworth. After this, Charlie and Grandpa Joe confront Wonka on the end of the tour. Wonka coldly explains that they violated the contract by stealing Fizzy Lifting Drinks and allowing Chucky, Patty and Shermy in the factory and therefore will receive nothing. Infuriated at this, Grandpa Joe attempts to protest but Wonka angrily demands them all to leave at once. Grandpa Joe suggests to Charlie that he should give Slugworth the Gobstopper, but Charlie returns the candy to Wonka. Because of this, Wonka declares Charlie the winner. He reveals that "Slugworth" is really Mr. Wilkinson, an employee of his, and the offer to buy the Gobstopper was actually a morality test which only Charlie passed. The trio and Jenny enter the "Wonkavator", a multi-directional glass elevator that flies out of the factory. Chucky, Patty and Shermy shrink Wilkinson and Brutus for the chase they put them throughout the film and use Fizzy Lifting Drinks to catch up with the others. Soaring over the city, Wonka reveals that his actual prize is the factory; Wonka created the contest to find a worthy heir and Charlie and his family can immediately move in. Wonka then reminds Charlie not to forget about the man who suddenly received everything he ever wanted. Charlie asks, "What ever happened to him?" to which Wonka replies, "He lived happily ever after." Voice cast *Peter Ostrum as Charlie Bucket *Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka *Jack Albertson as Grandpa Joe *Mel Blanc as Chucky *June Foray as Patty *William Hanna (uncredited) as Shermy *Pamelyn Ferdin as Jenny *Günter Meisner as Arthur Slugworth/Mr. Wilkinson **Bill Lee as Arthur Slugworth/Mr. Wilkinson's singing voice *Daws Butler as Brutus *Roy Kinnear as Henry Salt *Julie Dawn Cole as Veruca Salt *Leonard Stone as Sam Beauregarde *Denise Nickerson as Violet Beauregarde *Dodo Denney as Mrs. Teevee *Paris Themmen as Mike Teevee *Ursula Reit as Mrs. Gloop *Michael Bollner as Augustus Gloop *Diana Sowle as Mrs. Bucket *Aubrey Woods as Bill, the Candy Shop owner *Hans Conried as Alberto Minoleta *David Battley as Mr. Turkentine *Werner Heyking as the Tinker *Peter Stuart as Winkelmann *Rusty Goffe, Rudy Borgstaller, George Claydon, Malcolm Dixon, Ismed Hassan, Norman McGlen, Angelo Muscat, Pepe Poupee, Marcus Powell and Albert Wilkinson as the Oompa Loompas *Sebastian Cabot as the Narrator Differences between the novel and film *Charlie lives with his mother, Grandpa Joe and his three pets. *Charlie hands out newspapers to local shops. *Mr. Bucket is deceased. *Grandpa Joe is Mrs. Bucket's father when in the book he and Grandma Josephine are Mr. Bucket's parents and her parents are Grandpa George and Grandma Georgina. *Charlie's three anthropomorphic pet dog, cat and mouse, Chucky, Patty and Shermy, and Jenny the Oompa Loompa bird, are characters created exclusively for the film. *A tinker tells Charlie that nobody ever goes in that factory and nobody comes out, but Grandpa Joe tells him the rest of the story. There is no sign of Prince Pondicherry. *Grandpa Joe used to work for Mr. Wonka until he temporarily closed his chocolate factory. *There is no chain connecting the gates together. *The film is a musical. *There are no media circuses shown at Veruca and Charlie's Golden Ticket finds. *Charlie, after he finds the Golden Ticket, bumps into Mr. Wonka's business rival, Arthur Slugworth, who tries to bride him to steal an Everlasting Gobstopper for him for finding the secret formula for the Everlasting Gobstopper. This is later revealed as a lie; Slugworth is actually Mr. Wilkinson, one of Wonka's workers. The proposal is a test Wonka set up to judge the worthiness of the ticket holders to take over the factory, given to all five children. *Chucky, Patty and Shermy, with help of Jenny, secretly accompany Charlie and Grandpa Joe to prevent Slugworth, who had secretly entered to the factory, and his fat bumbling sidekick Brutus (who first appeared as a Wonka bar box delivery man whose one of Wonka bar boxes was stolen by Chucky, Patty and Shermy, until they decide returning them to the candy shop at Charlie's request) from stealing the Everlasting Gobstopper. This subplot merges with the main plot three times, the first time when they came to the Inventing Room, the second time when Veruca falls to the rubbish chute, along with them, and finally near the end, after Charlie, Grandpa Joe and Wonka exit from the Television Room. *The Oompa Loompas all sing smaller songs, each starting with "Oompa Loompa, Doompa De Do. I have another ''(on the one about Augustus Gloop's fate, they sing ''a perfect instead of another)'' puzzle for you. Oompa Loompa, Doompa Da De. If you are wise, you will listen to me''." *The Oompa Loompas all have orange faces and green hair, with the notable exception of Jenny, who have blonde feathers. *A man in Paraguay (who somehow looks identical to the Looney Tunes character Droopy) fakes the finding of the fifth golden ticket. When the fake was discovered, it shows on TV the man was arrested for counterfeiting. *In the book, the fake Golden Ticket is passed off as the second ticket. In the film, as well as the 2005 live-action remake, it is passed off as the fifth ticket. *The boat is not pink or see through and looks nothing at all like a seahorse. It is a normal sailor's boat. *Disturbing images appear during the boat ride. *Mr. Wonka gives each of the ticket holders an Everlasting Gobstopper in the Inventing Room. This is part of the aforementioned test of character. *The exploding candy room is not there. Instead, Mr. Wonka makes his exploding candy in the Inventing Room. *The date of the tour is October 1st, where in the book it is February 1st. *Charlie buys his candy from a candy shop, whereas in the book it is a newsstand. *The candy store owner does not witness Charlie winning the ticket with the bar bought from his shop. In the book and the 2005 live-action remake the newsstand owner does. *Children are only allowed to bring one parent to the factory, where in the book, children are allowed to bring one or two. *Veruca is judged a "bad egg" in the room where geese lay golden eggs, where in the book and the 2005 live-action remake, she is judged a "bad nut" by squirrels that work in the nut room. In all versions, she goes down the rubbish chute. Also, after, along with Chucky, Patty, Shermy and Jenny, escaping from being burned in the rubbish chute, which is also a oven, Mr. Salt angrilly indicates that he will to be much firmer with Veruca in the future. *Charlie and Grandpa Joe drink Fizzy Lifting Drinks. They almost fly into the ceiling fan, escaping by burping the gas out of their bodies thanks to Shermy. Later, Mr. Wonka angrilly denies Charlie the prize due to the incident, as well as allowing Chucky, Patty and Shermy to the factory. However, when Charlie, feeling guilty about it, gives him the Gobstopper, Mr. Wonka reveals he was not angry, he was actually acting for seeing Charlie was kind-hearted, and he really won. *Mr. Wonka, Mike Teavee and his mom and Charlie and Grandpa Joe get to the Television Room by the Wonkamobile, a train-like machine that makes riders feel clean. In the book, they use the Great Glass Elevator. Directing animators Production Development The idea for adapting the book into a film came about when director Mel Stuart's ten-year-old daughter read the book and asked her father to make a film out of it, with "Uncle Dave" (producer David L. Wolper) producing it. Stuart showed the book to Wolper, who happened to be in the midst of talks with Walt Disney to produce the film. Because of Disney being mainly known as an producer of animated films and because the story had many fantasy elements, he suggested Wolper and Stuart the project would be more suitable for an animated film, which Stuart and Wolper had accepted because Stuart always wanted to produce an animated film. Disney and Wolper persuaded food conglomerate The Quaker Oats Company, which had the ownership rights to the novel, to buy the rights to the book. It was agreed that the film would be a musical comedy, and that the book's author Roald Dahl himself would write the screenplay. Screenwriter David Seltzer and Disney veteran animators Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng conceived a gimmick exclusively for the film that had Wonka quoting numerous literary sources, such as Arthur O'Shaughnessy's Ode, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Seltzer worked Slugworth (only mentioned as a rival candy maker in the book) into the plot as an actual character (only to be revealed to be Mr. Wilkinson, one of Wonka's agents, at the end of the film), while Jones and Freleng had created four new characters, Charlie's three pets, Chucky, Patty and Shermy, and Jenny the Oompa Loompa bird. Originally, Shermy was originally intended to be voiced by Dick Van Dyke, but after he declined, the filmmakers removed his dialogue from the script in favor of a mute performance, much like Dopey in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Gideon the Cat from Pinocchio, Jerry Mouse from Looney Tunes fame, and Dumbo from the film of the same name. Writing Music Casting Animation Release and reception Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was released on June 30, 1971. It received positive reviews from critics such as Roger Ebert, who compared it to Mary Poppins. Ebert said, "All of this is preface to a simple statement: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is probably Walt Disney's best film since Mary Poppins. It is everything that family movies usually claim to be, but aren't: Delightful, funny, scary, exciting, and, most of all, a genuine work of imagination. is such a surely and wonderfully spun fantasy that it works on all kinds of minds, and it is fascinating because, like all classic fantasy, it is fascinated with itself." By the mid-1980s, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had experienced a spike in popularity thanks in large part to repeated television broadcasts and home video sales. Following a 25th anniversary theatrical re-release in 1996, it was released on DVD the next year, allowing it to reach a new generation of viewers. The film was released as a remastered special edition on DVD and VHS in 2001 to commemorate the film's 30th anniversary. In 2003, Entertainment Weekly ranked it 25th in the "Top 50 Cult Movies" of all time. As of 2017, the film holds a 90% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 7.7/10 based on 42 reviews. The site's critical consensus states: "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is strange yet comforting, full of narrative detours that don't always work but express the film's uniqueness". Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was ranked No. 74 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments for the "scary tunnel" scene. Dahl's reaction Dahl disowned the film, the script of which was partially rewritten by David Seltzer, Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng after Dahl failed to meet deadlines. Dahl said he was "disappointed" because "he thought it placed too much emphasis on three original characters the dog, Patty the cat and Shermy the mouse and not enough on Charlie at all", as well as the casting of Gene Wilder instead of Spike Milligan for the role of Willy Wonka. Dahl was also "infuriated" by the deviations in the plot Seltzer, Jones and Freleng devised in his draft of the screenplay, including the conversion of Slugworth, a minor character in the book, into a spy (so that the movie could have a villain) and the "fizzy lifting drinks" scene along with music other than the original Oompa Loompa compositions (including "Pure Imagination" and "The Candy Man"), and the ending dialogue for the movie. In 1996, Dahl's second wife Felicity commented on her husband's objections towards the film saying "they always want to change a book's storyline. What makes Hollywood think children want the endings changed for a film, when they accept it in a book?". Soundtrack Songs *"The Candy Man" – Bill, the Candy Shop owner *"Cheer Up Charlie" – Mrs. Bucket *"It's Your Chance" - Arthur Slugworth/Mr. Wilkinson *"I've Got a Golden Ticket" – Charlie Bucket, Grandpa Joe, Chucky and Patty *"Pure Imagination" – Willy Wonka *"Oompa Loompa (Augustus)" – The Oompa Loompas *"The Wondrous Boat Ride"/"The Rowing Song" – Willy Wonka *"Oompa Loompa (Violet)" – The Oompa Loompas *"I Want It Now!" – Veruca Salt *"Oompa Loompa (Veruca)" – The Oompa Loompas *"Oompa Loompa (Mike)" – The Oompa Loompas *"Pure Imagination (reprise)" - Chorus Deleted songs Some of them were written by the songwriter duo Richard and Robert Sherman, until Walt Disney had offered to them writing songs for both The Aristocats and Charlotte's Web instead. However, these songs would be reused to the 2013 stage musical play based on the book. The only song written by the Sherman Brothers which was used in the final film was Slugworth's song "It's Your Chance". *"Almost Nearly Perfect" - Charlie Bucket *"What Could Possibly Go Wrong?" - Chucky and Patty *"The Amazing Tale of Willy Wonka" - Grandpa Joe *"If Your Father Were Here" (replaced with "Cheer Up Charlie") - Mrs. Bucket *"When Veruca Says" (replaced with "I Want It Now!") - Veruca Salt *"It's Wonkavision Time" - Willy Wonka Audio CD track listing Media and merchandise Live-action remake Stage version References in other Disney films Theme parks Costumed versions of Charlie, Willy Wonka, Grandpa Joe, Chucky, Patty and Shermy make regular appearances at the Disney theme parks and resorts, and other characters from the film have featured in the theme parks. More famously, a dark ride entitled Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Ride, opening at Disneyland on June 4, 1999, and at Walt Disney World on December 6, 2012, both as part of Fantasyland and Magic Kingdom, respectively, is loosely based on the film. Video games Trivia *This is the first Disney film with a "Produced by" credit (before that The Love Bug and The Aristocats had a "Co-Producers" credit) and the first of the Walt Disney Animated Classics to open with "Walt Disney Productions Presents". This would continue up until Looney Tunes Presents: Goofy's Fantastic Island (1983). *The song that Wonka sings on the boat ride (There's no earthly way of knowing...) are the only song lyrics taken from Roald Dahl's book. All other songs were written specifically for the film. *In some scenes, Chucky and Patty are seen eating some candies, including chocolate. In real life, chocolate is considered toxic to dogs and cats. *Gene Wilder, who voiced Willy Wonka, said that he would only make the film under one condition: He wanted Wonka to do a somersault in the scene when he first meets the children. When asked why, the actor said that having Willy Wonka started limping and end up somersaulting would set the tone for that character. He wanted to portray him as someone whose actions are completely unpredictable. His request was granted. In order to do it possible for a animated film, Wilder was also the live-action reference model actor for Wonka, along with the children who played Charlie and the other ticket holders. *When the film was released, food conglomerate The Quaker Oats Company, which Disney had brought the rights to the original novel, began marketing chocolate bars from its Chicago-based Willy Wonka Candy Company subsidiary, which were named "Wonka Bars", after the fictional candy band, but unfortunately, an error in the chocolate formula caused the bars to met too easily, even while they are on the shelf, so they were taken to market. Nestle now owns the Willy Wonka Candy Company. *Peter Ostrum, the actor who voiced Charlie Bucket, made NO OTHER films. He instead became a veterinarian. Julie Dawn Cole (who voiced Veruca Salt) and Pamelyn Ferdin (who voiced Jenny) were the only ones from the child actors who were still acting in movies.